


Gabriel's Horn

by ChloShow



Category: Fargo (2014)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Undeath, Non-Canonical Character Death, Numbers isn't in this but remember he is trans, hhhhaa undeath what a tag, spiders tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-11 06:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2057913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloShow/pseuds/ChloShow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So what I’m going to do is write a script-type rewrite of the Fargo finale.<br/>I do not own FX’s Fargo, and I’ve transcribed the scenes I don’t want to change word-for-word from 1x10.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

—————————————————————————————

[precedently on Fargo]

—————————————————————————————-

—1x09—

 **Malvo** : Lester, is this what you want?  
 **Lester** : Yes.

-Malvo shoots the three others riding in the elevator; Lester runs away, award in hand.-

 **Malvo** : See ya later, Lester.

-Lester wakes up Linda as he packs his suitcase.-

 **Lester** : Get dressed.  
 **Linda** : Lester, are you okay?

-Lester opens his door to find Molly standing on his porch.-

 **Molly** : Vegas PD is gonna send over some pictures from the hotel security camera, so don’t leave town for a while I may have some more questions.

-Lester walks into the kitchen wearing his orange coat while Linda is cooking on the stove.-

 **Lester** : Ready to go?  
 **Linda** : What, I thought we weren’t gonna go?  
 **Lester** : Acapulco, here we come.

-The Nygaard’s vehicle sits in a parking lot across the street from Lester’s firm.-

 **Lester** : You think you could go in?  The passports are in the safe; there’s some cash in there, too.  It’s cold out there.  
 **Linda** : You’re sweet.

-Linda walks up to the safe, and Malvo rises from the shadows, shooting her in the back of the head.-

—1x08—

-Malvo strangles officer in bathroom as the lights flicker-

 **Malvo** : If you still feel raw about things when you heal up, come see me.

—————————————————————————————-

Stripped down version of “Thin Ice” plays.

[This is a true story.]

Heavy breathing beats emanates from somewhere beyond the scene and continues throughout.  The camera trails across a wooden floor to find a figure in an unremarkable, maple chair.  This scene fades to black as another sentence appears on the screen. 

[The events depicted took place in Minnesota in 2006]

An audio-less flash back of the 2006 white out plays. Short clips are strung together of two men pursuing Malvo, ending with Molly shooting Mr. Wrench from Mr. Wrench’s POV.

No one sits across from the hit man at the dinette set, and the emptiness echoes. A burner cell phone vibrates somewhere as the man eats a mostly finished plate of something brown and most likely microwaveable. Mr. Wrench doesn’t stop chewing as he retrieves the phone from his pocket, flipping it open.  Again, the scene fades to black.

[At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed.]

A straight shot of Mr. Wrench’s face moves slightly closer to gauge his reaction to the message.  He stops chewing.

Two black words grace the dim screen:

          Malvo, Bemidji.

[Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.]

The camera pans down from the night sky.  The source of the heavy breathing is revealed to be Lester Nygaard reacting to his second wife’s murder.  Paul Bunyan and his blue ox watch over the scene, expressionless.

Lester calms his breathing.  Malvo walks down the well-lit street as if he were simply running an errand.  Lester exits his car and crosses the street, the sound of snow crunching under his feet all too loud for both his desired stealth and still-ringing ears.  He walks into his shop and finds nothing short of what he expected:  Linda lies on her side; down feathers stick to the drying pool of blood around her head.

He doesn’t look mournful so much as if his getaway plan had just been ruined.  He opens the safe to pocket the cash and his passport when Malvo’s voice comes to him.

 **Malvo** : Is this what you want?

No, he doesn’t want to run.  He wants to win, to be the last man standing.  He attaches his keys to Linda’s key ring, only sparing a glance at his newly deceased wife before executing the rest of his rapidly forming plan.  A billboard for Lou’s Coffee Shop across the street solidifies his next step.

Cut to Lou limping across the worn linoleum of his diner with plates in both hands.

 **Lou** : Anywhere you like.  
—He says more in response to the bell than seeing Lester enter.

 **Lester** : Thanks.  
He takes a corner table.

 **Lou** : Just you?  
 **Lester** : Ah, no, there’s uh-it’ll be two of us.  Linda’s just grabbing something over by the shop.  
He’s good at lying, but Lou knows a bullshitter when he sees one.  However, he can’t put his finger on what Lester might be lying about.

 **Lester** : She dropped me off, said, ”Order the grilled cheese,” so I guess two of those.  
 **Lou** : And to drink?  
 **Lester** : A beer would change things for the better.  
—grinning.

 **Lou** : Eh, family place I’m afraid.  
—good-naturedly as if he’d like a drink as well.

 **Lester** : Uh, okay, two ginger ales then, and ah, I’m gonna use the bathroom.  
 **Lou** : Free with the meal.

One of Lester’s old clients spots him.  
 **Man** : Hey there!  
 **Lester** : Oh, hi, how are ya.  
The man is disappointed by Lester’s lack of interest and continues talking to his wife as Lester leaves the restaurant through the back.  
A train horn alerts far off drivers while Lester sneaks to the phone booth outside.  Lester clears his throat to neutralize his accent for the operator.

 **Operator** : Hello, Bemidji police, how can I help ya?  
 **Lester** : Hello, I’d like the report shots fired.  
 **Operator** : Sir, this is a non-emergency number.  You shoulda dialed 9-1-1.

Lester ignores her and continues his disguised voice.  
 **:**  Over on Elk and Third.  Gunshots.  Real loud like about, ah, ten seconds ago.  Sound like they come from inside one of the shops.  
The operator is fed up with the anonymous tipster’s inability to follow instructions.

 **Operator** : Okay, sir—  
She’s cut-off as Lester hangs up and retreats to his table inside, all the while pretending he’s used the restroom.  Lou approaches with two glasses of ginger ale.

 **Lou** : Grilled cheese comin right up.

  
Lester’s high on adrenaline, the cogs of his plan meshing perfectly.  
 **:**  That’s great, thanks.  Linda’s just, ah—She dropped me off, grabbed something over at the shop, said she had to pick something up.  
 **Lou** : Yeah, you said that.  
He’s wary of the repeated information.  The man from earlier walks into his working memory, the strange man with the sugary smile and violent eyes.   
 **Lou** : Want me to keep hers warm til she gets here?  
 **Lester** : Oh, ya, that’s, ah, although, like I said, she should be any second now.  
 **Lou** : You know, there’s a fella in here earlier asking aboutcha.  
 **Lester** : About me?  
 **Lou** : Yeah, silver hair.  Little goatee.  Said he went by your old house, but you moved.  
 **Lester** : Yah, we got the house up by the—what did he, what didja tell him.  
 **Lou** : Said if he wanted to leave you a number, I’d give it to ya.  He couldn’t see his way clear to it, so we left it at that.  Can’t say I much liked his demeanor.

He doesn’t know what Lester’s mixed up in, but knowing how Molly’s been keeping an eye on him for over a year now, he’ll give her a call about this later.  
 **Lester** : Sorry for the bother.  
 **Lou** : No bother.  Thought you oughta know.

The wailing jazz solo from the diner’s tinny speakers washes out, and a printer can be heard.  Cut to a computer screen.  Lester’s computer screen.  
Linda: We’re going to Acapulco.  
Lester tucking the tickets into his orange coat.  
Linda, dead on the floor of his office, tickets still in the inner pocket.  
He sets down his glass, about to scramble back to the office, fix his mistake.  The trumpet solo captures his failure as police sirens wail down the street.

 **Lester** : Oh my god.

Lou arrives with a single plate of grilled cheese.  
 **:**  Nothing good’s gonna come out of that.  
 **Lester** : Right.  
He picks up his grilled cheese triangle, feigning calm but eyes giving away his helplessness.


	2. Chapter 2

Gus Grimly, Greta Grimly, and Molly Solverson sit watching Deal or No Deal in their living room.  Molly is crocheting an item supposedly for her unborn child.

 **Gus** : Take the money, right?  
 **Greta** : Forget that.  I say go for it.  
Greta takes after her mother, both biological and adopted.  
A phone rings.  
 **Gus** : I got it.  
 **Molly** : No, I got it.  
She slides her slippered feet into the kitchen.  
 **Molly** : Solverson.  
The voice on the other end can’t be heard, but judging by her expression, she’s just received word of Linda Nygaard’s murder.

 **Molly** : Wait, what?  The other one now?  Jeez.  
She doesn’t know when this Lester business will ever be finished.

 **Molly** : Well, where’s Lester?  
Lester’s name catches Gus and Greta’s attention  
 **Molly** : Okay, put out an APB, and I’ll get my coat.  
She hangs up and walks back into the living room.

 **Gus** : What’s that now?  
—He knows full well what it is.  
 **Molly** : Someone killed the second Mrs. Nygaard.

[The end of “Bemidji, MN” plays.  This is the last time the theme plays before its reprise.]  
[The title card appears over the crime scene.  Red lights flash across the storefront.  There are no sirens, only an air of foreboding.]

Molly walks into the office to find Bill leaning against a desk, hat in hand.  
 **Bill** : Hey, you didn’t have to come.  
 **Molly** : We both know that’s not true.  
Molly walks up to Linda, but Bill stays further from the body what with his weak stomach and all.  
 **:**  Poor thing.  
 **Bill** : A headshot I think—I didn’t look too close.

A very pregnant Deputy Solverson squats to examine the body more closely.  
 **Molly** : Yeah.  She’s wearing his coat.  
 **Bill** : Meaning?  
 **Molly** : Meaning maybe it’s not Linda that’s meant to be lying here.

Lester is heard entering his shop.  
 **:**  Let me through.  
 **Bill**  [ever-unprofessional and sentimental]: Oh Lester.  
 **Molly** : Mr. Nygaard.  
 **Lester** : Aw, jeez.  
 **Bill**  [in quick succession]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, go, let’s go over here.  
 **Molly** : Let’s get him to sit down.  
 **Lester** : God, jeez! What—

He breathes heavily as they guide him over away from a crime scene to sit him down on a bench.  Bill and Molly say variations of “Sit down.”  
 **Lester** : This is not—this is not possible.  
 **Molly** : Mr. Nygaard, I have to ask you where you’re coming from.  
 **Lester**  [word vomit]: I was over waiting at the restaurant, drinking ginger ale. You’re dad was keeping her grilled cheese warm.  I was just waiting there. I can’t understand. She said she had to pick some papers up.  This is…not possible. This is impossible.  
 **Molly** : Lester, is there any way that ya think this is connected to Las Vegas?  The murders we talked about earlier.  
 **Lester** : What are you saying?  
 **Molly** : A repercussion for what you saw, maybe?

Bill chips in Molly’s earlier theory albeit less eloquently.  
 **:**  She’s wearing your coat, the wife.  Molly saw that, so she’s—  
 **Lester** : What do ya mean “she’s wearing my coat?”  What does that mean?  
 **Bill** : Well she—her—  
 **Lester** : Her coat got a rip so I…oh, wait, ah, you think.  You’re saying—[he’s at a loss for words] I’m gonna be sick.  I’m gonna be sick.  
 **Bill** : No, no, Lester, if you throw up, I’m gonna—we gotta get him outta here.  
 **Molly** : Okay, Mr. Nygaard, we’re gonna take you down to the station now, ask ya a lot of questions, timeline, et cetera, okay?  
 **Lester** : Yeah, whatever you think’s best.

He sets his sights on Linda or rather the tickets tucked away in his jacket.  
 **Lester** : Do you think—can I just…say goodbye.  
 **Molly** : Well, this is an active crime scene—  
 **Bill** : Of course you can, Lester.  You go ahead. Do whatever you need to do.  
[Hints of “Molly Looks For Lester” play over what appears to be Lester saying goodbye to his wife.]  Lester’s fingertips brush the tickets before Molly’s upon him.

 **Molly** : Mr. Nygaard, can’t have you touching the body, sir?  
 **Lester** : No, of course not.  I’m sorry, I’m just so—  
 **Molly** : I understand.  
—Not a false reassurance.  Vern’s death lurks behind her words.  
 **Molly** : Come away now, okay?  That’s right, okay.

Cut to Malvo’s cabin.  It appears inviting on the outside, but the wolf’s head mounted above the fireplace says otherwise.  Malvo is listening to reports of Linda Nygaard’s murder over his walkie.  Malvo takes a drink of coffee and hears tell of Agents Budge and Pepper’s presence in Bemidji.  He picks up the tools necessary for his next endeavor.

[Fades to Agents Budge and Pepper in the Bemidji police station]

Agent Budge is resting and stirs suddenly, perking up like a puppy who’s just heard a car pass by the house.  
 **Pepper** : I don’t like that look. I  _know_ that look.  
 **Budge**  [pensive]: Do you think animals have laws, and if so, is there a formal animal court system?  
 **Pepper** : Why are you asking that?  
 **Budge** : Can you at least guess?  
 **Pepper** : I’m sure you can find the answer on the Discovery channel.  
 **Budge** : One-zero.  
Pepper freezes and side eyes Budge.  
 **:**  No.

 **Pepper** : Don’t you want to pass the time?  
Budge refuses to play a game while they wait to interview a man about the guy who single-handedly destroyed the Fargo syndicate and their career.  Well...their inaction was a large part of their career's downfall, but that's not the point.  
 **Pepper** : Silence is a miss. 2-zero. Don’t you care to win?  
 **Budge** [unamused]: No.  
 **Pepper** : 3-zero.

Molly walks in, interrupting Budge’s game.  
 **:**  Got him in interview 1.  Also, they just called from the scene; looks like the wife had plane tickets in her pocket. Mexico.

 **Pepper** : Uh-oh.  
 **Budge** : Mexico.  That’s not even original.

Molly looks at the odd pair.  
 **:**  Acapulco more specifically.  Hear they have nasty spiders.

 **Bill**  [enters the room]: Coroner’s saying a single shot from close up.  Said they found feathers in her head from her hood.  
—Nauseous  
 **:**  They were stuck in—

 **Pepper** : So, execution style.

Lou enters the station looking for Molly.  
 **:**  Should have said something earlier.

 **Molly** : Ya heard what happened?  
 **Lou** : More’n heard.  Saw the prowlers screaming by.  Lester sitting not ten feet away, eating a grilled cheese.  
 **Molly** : Any chance you could put an exact time on his arrival?  
 **Lou** : Not down to the minute, but that’s not why I’m here.  You remember you came by with those FBI fellas earlier, and I was lookin out the glass?  
 **Molly** : With a peculiar look on your face?  
 **Lou** : Yeah, well, there’s a fella in just before you got there, and he was asking about Lester.  
 **Molly** : What?  
 **Lou** : Yeah, and I’m a fool for not saying.  He was maybe mid-fifties. Upscale lookin. Silver hair brushed back with a goatee.  Drove a red BMW.

Molly pulls out the old security cam photo from her file.  
 **:** This fella?

 **Lou** : Not unless he changed his whole…although maybe.  
 **Molly** : Drove a red BMW you said?  
 **Lou** : Yeah.  
 **Bill** : Molly, we’re going in.  
 **Molly** : Dad, I gotta go.  
 **Lou** : Well there’s two ways of looking at it.  First is you gotta.  Second is you don’t.

Molly has never been one to take the second option, and now is not the time to break character.  
 **:**  Will you call home for me?  Let Gus know that—tell him it’s gonna be all night.

 **Lou** : Oh, screw that.  I’m getting my gun, is what I’m doin.  Go sit on the front porch.  Make sure my granddaughter’s safe.  
 **Molly**  [as her father walks away]: You’re a good man.

Lou drives away from the police station, and Malvo appears out of the shadows to break into Budge and Pepper’s FBI vehicle.  He takes a seat and pulls out a manual on FBI protocol.

——————————————————————

Lester sits in the interrogation room, Malvo’s words ringing in his head.  “Is this what you want?”  Lester recalls the innocent people who died in Vegas because of him and sticks with his choice, face resolute.  Violins screach as Molly, Bill, Budge, and Pepper enter the room.

Lester tries to play on Bill’s sentiment.  
 **:**  Bill, is she—tell me she’s not still lying there, and everyone’s just stepping over her.

 **Molly** : Mr. Nygaard, these fellas are from the FBI.  
 **Lester** : The wha-Is this about—come on, I told you, I didn’t see nothing.  All I did was get on an elevator.  
 **Pepper** : We’re not here about Las Vegas,sir.  
 **Budge** : Well, we are and we aren’t.  
 **Pepper** : We’re here about him.

Agent Pepper lies three security cam photos of Malvo on the table in front of Lester.  
 **Budge** : Based on the hustle of the deputy, we have a name for him:  Lorne Malvo.

Molly looks for a reaction from Lester, and Lester’s face is too composed to be a natural, innocent reaction.  
 **Lester** : Ah, Bill.  
 **Bill** : Answer the question.  
 **Lester** : Um, yeah, I’m now asking for a lawyer.  Just for the record.

Molly retrieves a fourth photo from her file and tosses it closest to Lester.  
 **:**  He’s changed his look hasn’t he?

 **Lester**  [more word vomit]: I’m done answering—you’ve obviously made up your mind that I’m some kind ah, and I’m not—MY WIFE IS DEAD.  And there are arrangements to see to, so you can either lock me up or let me go.  
 **Molly**  [knowingly]: He’s not gonna stop.  You know that right?  A man like that, maybe not even a man.

—————————————————————

[Cut to winter sunrise playing across the snow-strewn fields. A black Grand National pulls up near an unlit pawn shop named “Bunyan’s Pawn,” yellow posters sporting red letters with “Best deals in Minnesota!” paper the brick walls.]  Wrench kills his lights and exits the vehicle.  He’s wearing a brown, nearly black leather jacket.  His other, tasseled one doesn’t move much now anymore now that he has no one to talk to. The dawn is gray on this side of town, and all but the righteous and wicked are still asleep.

A young man climbs out of a white van with a file in hand.  
 **Young man** :  Did we really have to meet so early?   

Wrench shows no sign that he read the question.  His eyes mimic the hard, still morning.  The young man hands the file over to Wrench, and the hit man begins to skim the pages.

 **Young man** : Oh, yeah, forgot. [He points to his ear.] Well, um, everything’s in there, but, ah, I’m just talking to myself aren’t I…

Wrench flips the manila folder closed, pulls out some rolled bills, and stuffs them in the youth’s hand.  
 **Young man** : Thanks…hey! [He tugs at the file again, pulling a pen out of his pocket to write something.]

‘Do you need anything else?’  He opens the back of his van and chooses his most current business venture to pitch.  
 **Young man** : I’ve got these real sweet knives, just came in last week.  See, this is a normal blade. [He pulls out his pocket knife; Wrench has no time to suffer his spiel]  And this [unsheathes another knife dramatically] is Damascus steel. 

Mr. Wrench stares into the knife’s finely polished blade, his face reflected back at him as the boy drones on, forgetting his deafness once again.  
 **Young Man** : Old world Damascus steel was rumored to have magical properties, but I just love it cause it looks badass. 

He laughs and reels himself back in, watching his silent client.  Mr. Wrench writes, ‘Price?’ underneath the youth’s question.  
 **Young man**  [surprised]: Oh, uh, this one has opal inlay against polished cherry, so [he looks up to see his client expecting a straight answer] $400.

Wrench pulls out his wallet, hands him the additional cash, and sheathes the knife, while the young man beams.  
 **Young man** : Aw jeez, thanks, man. You’re a lot more agreeable than that other guy with the bowl cut.

Wideshot of Mr. Wrench walking around his car to the driver’s side, the salesman still thanking him, and he drives away, seemingly to examine the file at a safer location.


	3. Chapter 3

Lou sits on the Solverson/Grimly household’s porch with his shotgun just as he’d promised.  Gus exits his house, unaware of his father-in-law’s presence.

 **Gus** : Hey there.  What’s goin on?  
 **Lou** : What do you mean?  
 **Gus**  [not rude, just a bit confused]: I mean it’s 7 o’clock in the morning, and you’re sitting on my front porch with a shotgun.  
 **Lou** : There is some consensus this Malvo fella may be back.  
 **Gus** : Where’s Molly?  
—He has a suspicion; he just needs confirmation.

 **Lou** : Left her at the precinct last night.  Had Lester Nygaard in custody.  Bout to talk to him.  
 **Gus** : I’m goin after her.  Keep an eye on Greta.  
 **Lou** : Believe me I mean to.

————————————————

Molly’s briefing a sparse room of officers grouped around a map of Bemidji.  She’s cradling about a drawer’s worth of packets in one arm.  
 **:**  Okay, plan is we fan out, prowlers on all main roads for Malvo and circle the town in other words. There’s pic—

And officer raises his hand in the middle of her sentence.

 **Molly** : Yeah.  
 **Officer** : Well, there are three main roads, so actually more of a triangle.

The other officers (all men) nod in agreement.  If it weren’t for Vern and her father, she’d have thought all policemen were dullards.  She currently doesn’t have much faith in the fellas before her to catch their man.

 **Molly:** There’s photos of the suspect in your packets.  We hear he might have changed his look though, so silver hair, brushed back, possibly a goatee. Ah, drives a red BMW possibly stolen.  The FBI’s sending a team to meet up here, and in the meantime, two original agents will be staking out Lester’s house.  
 **Female officer** : Molly, Gus on one.  
 **Molly** : Yeah, I’ll be out there with ya coordinating maneuvers, so pass those out for me, thanks.

Molly hands the packets to the officer who’d spoken earlier and heads to the landline on the wall.  
 **:**  Yeah, hun?

 **Gus** : Hey, I’ve been callin.  
 **Molly** : Yeah, I know.  Sorry, it’s been, uh…  
 **Gus** : Is it—is it true?  Is he back?  
 **Molly** : Yeah, I just finished briefing the guys, so…we tried to crack  **Lester** : but he wouldn’t flinch, so the plan is now we’re gonna use him as bait while—  
 **Gus** : Molly.  
 **Molly** : So things are real busy here, hun.  
 **Gus** : Look, hun, don’t. Okay, I gotta ask you not to. Don’t go out there.  You personally don’t go looking.  
 **Molly**  [affronted]: Gus, it’s my job.  
 **Gus** : Yeah, I know, and you’re amazing and the best. And I have no doubt that if you wanted, you could handcuff Al Capone, but some days, sometimes you get forces you can’t control. Bad luck, ya know?  
 **Molly** : Bad luck.

The longer Gus speaks, the more she feels he doesn’t believe she’s capable of handling the case, and if she’s proud of anything, it’s her work.  
 **Gus** : Yah, so if it really is him, Malvo, I just—with everything we’ve been working for, ya know, our family.

Molly’s done.  Where is her husband’s respect and confidence in her?  
 **:**  Gus.

 **Gus** : And I know it’s not fair; it’s not. It’s your job, and I’m just a mailman, but you’ve got a precinct full of cops and the FBI is there so I just—bottom line, I can’t make her go to another funeral, ya know?

Will he say this every time she has to do her job until he convinces her to quit?  
 **Molly** : Yeah, okay, don’t worry.  I’ll just, um, yeah, I’ll run things from here.

 **Gus** : Okay, good.  Good.  I’m in the car.  I’m coming over.  
 **Molly**  [this is ridiculous]: No, don’t, that’s not…No, just go home. [Her mood improves] Be with our girl. Hey, is my dad there?  
 **Gus** : Yeah, he’s on the porch with a shotgun.  
 **Molly** : Gotta love a man who keeps his word, right?  
 **Gus** : So you promise?  
 **Molly** [jokingly]: Yeah, I won’t leave the building until I leave and tell me he’s surrounded.  
 **Gus**  [serious]: No, until he’s dead.  
 **Molly** : Call ya in a little bit okay?

Gus hangs up the phone and looks up to find something startling, slamming on his breaks.  A lone wolf lurks in the middle of the dirt road.  The animal slinks off to the woods, drawing Gus’ gaze to a cabin with a red BMW parked outside.  He considers calling Molly to tell her the location but decides otherwise.  Gus rounds the corner and parks out of sight of the cabin.  A car drives past where he’s parked, startling him, but continues down the increasingly snow-obscured dirt road.

[“Trading Places” plays as Gus enters the woods adjacent to the cabin.] 

Treacherous cellos accompany Malvo’s appearance.  Gus squats in plain sight, watching Malvo drive off in his BMW.  Gus is torn between calling in a tip on Malvo’s whereabouts and waiting in the cabin for him to return.  His pride chooses the latter.  He walks up to the doorway, checks his surroundings, and decides to enter.  The camera is now positioned in the forest, and the audience and perhaps someone else watches Gus close the blue door. Footfalls in the snow alert us. 

A toboggan and overcoat creep into frame; the camera cuts to reveal Mr. Wrench internally cursing Gus Grimly.  Now he’ll have to wait out here in the snow for Malvo to return.  Not that he’s not used to the cold by now; the man inside is just an unnecessary variable complicating his plan.

\-------------------------------

Malvo's cabin fades into Bill’s office, dimly lit with Bill on the verge of starting an important discussion.  
  
 **Molly** : So it’s decided. The FBI fellas are gonna take Lester home, sit on the house, see if we can’t draw this Malvo fella out. You okay, Chief?  
 **Bill** [sighs heavily]:  Hangin it up after this.  
 **Molly** : What’s that?  
 **Bill** [open, all cards on the table]:  I quit…is what I’m saying.  Don’t got the stomach for it.  Not like some…not like you. Wearing the badge, seeing the _lengths_ people are capable of, the _inhumanity_. [recalls a past that didn’t truly exist]  Whatever happened to sayin “Goodmorning” to your neighbors and shovelin their walk and bringin in each other's toters?  
 **Molly** : Well, it still goes on.  
 **Bill** : Yeah, but, not the same.

Bill’s nostalgic for a time where he wasn’t tainted by this crime, where he still had trust in others.  It’s not the times that have changed; it’s him.  
 **:** I used to have positive opinions about the world, you know, about people.  Used to think the best.  Now I’m lookin over my shoulder.  An unquiet mind.  That’s what the wife calls it.   And then I see you, and I didn’t work with your father, but I bet he was the same way, anyway you, you’re here with a bun in the oven, interrogating Lester, runnin the show.  This job’s got me staring into the fireplace, drinking, and I think if I wasn’t here in the first place, thing’s wouldn’t’ve gotten so--so gosh darn screwy! 

  
 **Molly** [can’t deny his incompetence but doesn’t want to rub it it]: So what are you sayin, Bill?  
 **Bill** :What I’m sayin is that when all this is through and you have the baby, I’m hopin you see it through and take the job like it shoulda been from the get go.  
 **Molly** : Thank you, but—  
 **Bill** :  No buts.  Whatever you’re thinking, whatever doubts you have, forget em. You’re the real deal.  Vern saw it. Heck, those FBI fellas see it. So…think about it for me, woulda?  
 **Molly** [grateful and slightly awed, as if her persistence has finally been recognized, but what she really cares about is making sure the bad guys get locked up]: I will think about it. Gotta talk it over with Gus, but…I will.  So you’re okay with the plan then?  Call in the cavalry then set a trap?  
 **Bill** : Yeah, we’re a small time force; we’re not equipped for, ya know, urban warfare. Most these guys can’t shoot a can off a fence.  
  
Molly’s hesitant to leave and wants to give him some words of encouragement.  
 **:** Chin up Chief.

She leaves Bill mulling over the plan and his future.

—————————————————-

Lorne Malvo sits in his red BMW right outside the police station with the FBI manual he lifted from Budge and Pepper’s car the night before.  He could complete this errand anywhere, but he wants to further make a mockery out of Bemidji’s law enforcement.  He dials his phone.   
A female officer sits filing her nails answers at the front desk.

 **Officer** : Police.  
 **Malvo** : Ah, yes, this is FBI Main, I’m looking for my agents.  
 **Officer** : Yeah, they’re with a suspect right now.  I could interrupt?  You want Pepper or Budge?

Malvo writes down Pepper and Budges names in the manual’s front cover.  
 **:**  Negatory.  Don’t interrupt.  Just tell em to call home when they’re done.

He hangs up before she can reply now that he has the information he was after.  He dials the phone again.

 **Person** : FBI.  
 **Malvo** : Operations.  
 **Person** : Passcode?  
 **Malvo** : Six One Alpha Theta Nine.  
 **Person** : Transferring.  
 **Man** : Operations.  
 **Malvo** : Yes, this is Agent Budge.  We’ve hit a dead end out here, so we’re going to be heading back.  
 **Man** : Say again?  
 **Malvo** : Dead end. Heading back.  
 **Man** : Hold on, did you just call looking for backup?  
 **Malvo** : Yeah, my partner, he kind of jumped the gun on that one, but it looks like local PD has it under control, so we’re just gonna pack and blow.  
 **Man** : Whatever.  Get your shit straight.  Canceling backup.

Malvo hangs up, meditates on his next move in his red BMW, a wolf in wolves’ clothing.

Malvo parks outside a Double L Motors Ltd and walks past the rows of gaudy For Sale signs, holding a black duffle bag with his gloved hand.  The owner approaches Malvo stopped in front of a plain, dark gray Ford.

 **Owner** : Can I help you sir?  
 **Malvo** : I hope so.  Got my eye on this one.  
 **Owner** : She’s a beaut, that’s for sure.  V8 engine.  Only 22,000 miles on her.  
 **Malvo** : I like it cause it looks like an undercover vehicle.  Like an FBI car.  
 **Owner** : You’re right, sir, I guess she does.  Never thought about it. Even got the long antenna on the bag.  
 **Malvo** : Mind if we take a test drive.  
 **Owner**  [reluctantly reluctant]: Well, we’re not officially open yet.  But I don’t see why not.  Hold on, I’ll grab the keys.

Malvo tosses his duffle in the backseat and gets behind the wheel.  The owner returns from inside, tossing the keys to Malvo.

 **Owner** : Shotgun!

The car starts, and the car’s plates echo what stumped Margie’s partner, Lou, in Brainerd 23 years earlier:  DLR

——————————————————— 

Lester still resides in interrogation room one.  Molly walks into the room with a file.  
 **:**  So, we’re letting you go.

 **Lester** : Bout time.  
 **Molly** : Yeah, and so the FBI fellas are gonna drive ya home.  
 **Lester**  [not thrilled about the connotation]: Not necessary.  I can call a cab.  
 **Molly** : Yeah, well, like I said, we’re letting you go, but at the same time a wanted fugitive has been spotted in town, and we think he’s got intentions towards ya, so…ride home’s not really optional.  
 **Lester** : Well, they’re not comin in the house.  
 **Molly** : Sure, okay, we can play it that way, but they’re still gonna stick around for a while. Keep an eye on things.

Lester rises and turns to go, but like always, can’t seem to leave well enough alone.  
 **:**  I’m not sure what it is that you’ve had against me since day one, but I’m not the person you think I am, this kind of monster.

Molly sets in to tell a parable, leveling with Lester.  
 **:** There’s a fella once, running for a train, and he’s carrying a pair of gloves. He drops a glove on the platform, but he doesn’t notice.  And then later on inside the train—he’s sitting by the window—and he realizes that he’s just got this one glove left.  But the train’s already pulling out of the station, right.  So what does he do?  He opens the window, and he drops the other glove onto the platform.  That way whoever finds the first glove can just have the pair.

 **Lester** : So what are you telling me?  
 **Molly** : Goodbye, Mr. Nygaard.

She breaks eye contact and bends over to write something in her file.  Lester is amused, believing with the weight of the farewell this is the last he’ll see of her.

 **Lester** : Goodbye, Deputy.

——————————————————-

Bill is standing in front of his desk, donning his coat and gloves when Molly walks in.  [“Bad Idea” plays, rising when we later see Lester, Budge, and Pepper’s legs exiting the precinct]  
 **:**  Molly, have those two agents left with Lester yet?

 **Molly** : They’re about to. Why?  
 **Bill** : I’ve been thinking, and I’ve come to the decision that it should be me stakin out Lester’s house. 

Bill is already leaving the room.  
 **Molly** : What, no, you have to stay here for when backup arrives.  
 **Bill** : That’s why I’m giving the order for you to stay put and keep in touch with our boys on the main roads.  Catch me on the walkie if there’s any news!

He gives a wave behind him to Molly, and he walks past the front desk.

 **Officer** : Where ya goin, Bill?  
 **Bill** : Ah, I’m swappin places with those agents out there.   
 **Officer** : You want me to tell Sally where you’ll be?  
 **Bill** : Oh, no, I’ll give her a call when I get there.  I’ll see ya later!  
 **Officer** : Bundle up tight, it sure is a cold one today.

He leaves an exasperated Molly at the door of his office.  She looks at the lettering on the glass and sighs, leaving for her desk.

Bill hustles to the parking lot and hollers over to Pepper and Budge.  
 **:**  Hey! Hey, hold up. I’ll take him.  You two wait for your FBI buddies inside.

 **Pepper** : Are you sure? It could be hours alone by yourself.  
 **Bill** : Yeah, I’m sure. I could use the time catchin up in the crossword! Let’s—I’ll take him in my cruiser alright?  
 **Budge** : Sure. Stakeouts aren’t our thing anyway.  
 **Pepper** : Shhh!  
 **Bill** : What’s that now?  
 **Pepper** : Well, at the moment we’re technically assigned to… _administration_.  
 **Bill** : Uh-uh, right, okay. You fellas can keep Molly company inside. Work on theories, whatever it is you FBI types do. [Turns to Lester and pats him on the shoulder.]  Now let’s see where I parked the darned thing…

—————————————————-

Budge and Pepper drive away to park again, and a wideshot catches Bill and Lester walking together.  Lester pointedly doesn’t look at Bill and moves to sit in the back of Bill’s cruiser.

 **Bill** : Oh, Lester, you can sit up front if ya like.  You’re not a prisoner or anything.  
 **Lester** : After bein interrogated all night, it sure feels that way.

Bill puffs his cheeks, slowly exhaling, and closes his car door.  Cut to them driving down the dreary street, Malvo’s ‘undercover car’ pulls out of its parking spot and falls in line behind them.  Bill looks in his rearview mirror at Lester behind the cage.  Lester purses his lips and looks out the window.  Both feel the tension, and Lester knows he won’t be the one to break.

 **Bill** : Now, I know you said you weren’t gonna talk without a lawyer, but I wanna get this out there…I feel used, Lester. Sure, I’m gullible and sure, I’ll say it, I’m not the best cop, but I thought I could trust you.  
He pauses, and his face flushes, eyes welling up.  He didn’t exactly plan what he was going to say; he wasn’t the planning sort.

 **Bill** : Geez, I thought we were friends.

He waits for a reply, but he gets a manicured response.  
 **Lester** : You’re right. I’m not going to say anything without my lawyer present.

Outside shot of the car pulling up into Lester’s driveway. Bill orients the car so that it’s facing the road. Lester unbuckles and realizes he can’t exit without Bill’s help.

 **Lester** : Um, say, would you mind opening the door?

Bill doesn’t say a word when he gets out of the vehicle to do so.

 **Lester** : Ah, thanks, Bill.  
 **Bill** : Chief.  
 **Lester** : Sorry?  
 **Bill** : It’s ‘Chief.’  
 **Lester** : Gotcha.  Well, um,  _Chief,_  I’m going inside, and I’d rather you not come in and all seein as…  
 **Bill** : Just go inside, Lester.  
—-Bill stares at Lester with a face of unbelief and emptiness.

Lester walks into his house cheerily, not the slightest bit bothered by the loss of Bill’s friendship (well, to him it was just  _usefulness_ ). He checks that Bill is staying in his car, turns to the basement to retrieve Chazz’s hunting gear, and sets to work.


	4. Chapter 4

Molly’s en route to Lester’s house after Malvo’s trap.  She drives uneasily, listening to the police radio’s garble.    
  
Lester Nygaard appears to be unpacking his suitcase from the missed flight to Acapulco, flinging clothing haphazardly across the floor.  He comes across his “Salesman of the Year” award, meaningless now.  The award follows the clothing to the floor.  He walks downstairs and notices Bill’s car running with a faint trail of blood across the snow.  His adrenaline kicks in, sprinting to beat Malvo to the first punch.

Malvo backs the stolen vehicle out of the driveway and tucks it out of sight, subsequently dragging the salesman behind the woodpile to rest with Bill.  After cleaning the scene, he sets his sights on breaking into Lester’s house.   
[Screeching strings that mimic a ticking clock play in a rhythm, heightening the suspense.]  
Lester is heard upstairs calling the police.

 **Lester** : Police? Yes, it’s an emergency.  Ah, this is Lester Nygaard.  I think the—you need to send somebody.  
  
Regardless of whether or not Lester’s call is real, the police in the form of Molly Solverson are making their way over that very second.  Malvo makes his way down the hallway to Lester’s bedroom.  
  
 **Lester** : I need help now.  I need you to come, please.  My—Lester Nygaard.  Please!  Just hurry up.  I’m upstairs in the bathroom; there’s no lock on the door.  Oh god, you gotta hurry.  
  
Malvo sets his left leg right into Chazz’s bear trap.  Surprise (along with pain, anger, etc.) runs through his system for the first time in a while, but his main thought is to stay alive.  Lester walks out of the bathroom, gun in hand, and fires at Malvo.  Malvo dives behind the bed, his leg still trapped.  Lester tries to shoot again, but only the hollow sound of an empty chamber echoes throughout the room.  During the split second of Lester’s bewilderment, Malvo manages to propel the “Salesman of the Year” trophy at Lester’s face.  Malvo’s thinking is far clearer than his opponent’s because he immediately aims his silenced pistol at Lester.  No more games.  
 **Lester** : Oh, shit.

[Predictably “Malvo Retreats” plays.]  
Lester seeks shelter in the bathroom without a lock on the door.  Malvo shoots three times into the door, and Lester re-cocks his own gun, firing three times back into the door, hoping to further maim the man who quite literally walked straight into his trap.  No sign of life from the next room.  Not even a grunt.  Lester exits the bathroom to find the bloody bear trap empty and Malvo nowhere to be seen.  Lester spies a trail of blood and apprehensively follows it downstairs.  He checks every corner on the way to his front door, not letting the trail of blood fool him.  However, it appears Malvo has straightforwardly fled the scene in Bill’s cruiser.    
Lester had won.

————————————---

Malvo drives.  He’s very aware of how serious this wound is and means to tend to it as soon as possible.  A camera shows the front end of a car pulling into a snowy driveway, but it’s not Malvo we see at the wheel.    
Molly’s brow furrows when she sees the blood trail in the snow.

 **:** What the— 

She takes her walkie in hand and contributes to the intermittent static phrases.    
 **Molly:** All patrol cars to the Nygaard residence.  No sign of the Chief or his prowler, and there’s, uh, there’s what looks to be quite a bit of blood in the snow.  Over.

At that moment, Lester’s door opens to reveal a man dressed in non-conspicuous colors carrying a suitcase. The walkie crackles to life with each officer confirming their backup with an “Over and out.”    
Molly exits her car and lifts her gun as if on reflex.  
 **Molly** :  This is Deputy Solverson.  Stay where you are.   
  
Lester looks up and draws his gun from the back of his pants, shooting at Molly several times but only glancing off her prowler.    
[“Lester Running” begins as its namesake commands.]  
Molly rises from behind her vehicle and approaches the house.  She passes Lester’s suitcase on the porch and inspects each corner with professional care.  Lester waits, flush against the wall of the stairwell.    
The camera focuses on Lester, face scrubbed clean but eyes growing raccoon circle bruises, as an out-of-focus Molly enters and exits the frame clearing her way.    
  
We’ve returned to Molly’s perspective, about to pass the white banister on her left.  Lester hears the floorboards creak, spins from his position, and pulls the trigger at Molly’s head, but nothing fires from the barrel.  Cornered, out of bullets, and running out of ideas, he jumps from his high ground, knocking Molly and her gunfire backward.  She struggles to regain her breath, redirecting her focus from the panicked worry for her child to the escaping murderer.  A revving engine captures her attention.  Lester has unchained and boarded his snowmobile.  The yellow machine buzzes from the garage to the back of the house, aiming to cut through the trees and go…anywhere away from his current predicament.

Deputy Solverson steadies herself on a side table and breathes rhythmically.  One can see the snowmobile through the transparent porch doors heading to what lay beyond the property.  She swings open the already ajar glass door and slows her breathing, steadying her hands.  The camera perches on the front of Lester’s vehicle, capturing his desperate, hopeful face and the pain that follows when Molly pulls her handgun’s trigger on the exhale, and a bullet flies into the back of his knee through the kneecap.  He careens into a tree and crumples over the handlebars, tumbling into the snow.  Molly walks calmly out to the edge of the woods and finds Lester clutching his ruined joint and howling.

 **Molly** : Lester Nygaard, you’re under arrest for attempted murder.  Anything you say can and will be held against you.  
  
He doesn’t respond, doesn’t even acknowledge her presence.  She reads him his rights and reaches for her handcuffs, prying Lester’s hand off his leg wound.  Her head swivels over her shoulder to see how far away she’s parked, and two bodies catch her attention, one of which is clearly a middle-aged officer self-assigned to stakeout the house.  A hollow feeling fills Molly’s gut.  She dry swallows and stares on, not able to say his name.

——————————————————  
This scene fades with Lester’s cries of pain into Malvo’s grunts as he exits his car, gingerly using his injured leg.  Mr. Wrench watches him enter the cabin, a look of satisfaction crossing his features.    
Two yellow eyes stare out from behind a tree, and a growling wolf approaches a vulnerable Mr. Wrench from behind.  The last shot we see before we enter the cabin is the wolf leaping and Wrench’s limbs flailing.

\-------------------------------

Malvo hops across the cabin’s dimly lit interior to a wooden table containing his supplies.  He sets his gun down, picks up an old-fashioned, leather medical kit, and moves to the living room area to fix himself up. After a few more labored steps, Malvo sits on his couch and lifts his injured leg onto the coffee table. He removes a knife from his jacket and cuts away the bloody cloth of his pant leg, his shinbone protruding through his calf.  He opens a black case, revealing an array of needles, and prepares a painkiller to do what’s required next.  Once the anesthetic has taken effect, he yanks a line from the window blinds and pulls the bone into place, subsequently fashioning a rough splint. He leans back and pauses for the first time since leaving Lester’s house; the silence is felt now that the wind picks up, howling around the sides of the red cabin.    
  
Ever aware, he flits his eyes up to find a deer creeping through the snow, head lifting and turning as it notices the wind’s renewed vigor. Malvo considers this scene and cautiously reaches into his jacket.  Footsteps on the wood floor behind the couch alert him to someone’s presence, but he’s not anxious.  Gus Grimly’s gun comes into frame.

 **Gus** : I figured it out.  
 **Malvo** [not defeated; neutral]: Good for you.  
  
Gus shifts unsurely but confidently in place, light filtering in through the yellow cream curtains.  
 **:** The riddle. Shades of green, I figured it out.  
  
 **Malvo** [knows what Gus’ speech is leading to]: Do you know what’s in my pocket, Grimly?  
 **Gus** [adamant]: I don’t care.

 **Malvo** : Oh, you do care, or at least you should. Because what I have in my pocket is a Soviet F1 hand grenade, nicknamed the _limonka_. Do you know the fatality radius of the _limonka_?

Gus has no response. He holds the gun out in front of him, but his eyes are that of a deer in the headlights.  Malvo can see Gus’ trigger finger and any other detail on Grimly, including how he managed to turn several shades whiter after the mention of a grenade.   
  
 **Malvo** : 5 meters.  That leaves the both of us dead.  
 **Gus** : How do I know ya really have a grenade in your pocket?   
 **Malvo** : Will it really make you more comfortable to see me holding a live grenade?  
 **Gus** [clipped; finger so close to pulling the trigger]: Go ahead.  Take it out.

Malvo sighs and reveals, alas, a grenade.  Regret bleeds from Gus' face as he mulls over his decision not to shoot Malvo in the back of the head.  He can’t keep his eyes off the grenade and delivers his next line without taking his eyes off it.   
  
**Gus** [a long pause]: So what if I put down my gun?   Fella like you doesn’t let people live.  
 **Malvo** : I’m not gonna kill you, and you’re not going to tell anyone that I’m here. You know how I know that? You’re a coward. I’m going to let you go, and you’ll be too paranoid to tell anyone on the off chance I find out you're a rat _and_ a coward [he smiles].  Then I'll kill your daughter and your wife and her dear ol dad.

[“Malvo (Eyes Wide)” plays.]

Grimly pushes himself to pull the trigger, but he can’t make himself give up his life.  His confidence is gone; his hands shake, lowering his pistol.  
 **Malvo** : Good. Now drop the gun and drive back on home like none of this ever happened.

Gus strains his face, setting the gun down in front of Malvo on the tabletop, still looking at the grenade in Malvo’s hand to remind himself of the grisly fate that awaits him.  He slowly retreats back the way he came.  
  
 **Malvo** [off-handedly with a sparkle in his eye]: Oh, and give Molly a kiss for me.

Gus’ stomach twists, throat tightening, and he slams the door as hard as his hands let him.


	5. Chapter 5

[ **MALVO** walks out of his cabin leaning heavily on a walking stick and carrying what looks like to be his suitcase of tapes and weapon bag, the only incriminating evidence that might be found.  There’s no way he can drive his BMW or stolen police cruiser, so he stops at the road, waiting for an unfortunate soul to pass by and leaning to his right on the waist-height walking stick.]

 

[A blue car spots **MALVO** , slows, and stops. The driver, **BO MUNK** , rolls the window down to offer the hitchhiker a ride.]

  
**BO MUNK**   
Where ya goin, pal?  
  
**MALVO**   
Just into town if you don’t mind givin me a lift.  I have a bum leg, and I can hardly carry my bags.  
  
**BO MUNK**  
Oh, let me get those for ya.

  
[He exits the vehicle and takes **MALVO** ’s bags to put in the trunk, totally oblivious to their contents. Meanwhile, **MALVO** takes his place behind the wheel and pulls out his silenced handgun.]

  
**BO MUNK**  
So whatchu doin here in Bemidji? Don’t think I’ve seen you around.  
  
**MALVO**   
Just here on business.  
  
**BO MUNK**  
You should be more careful wandering around by yourself. I hear there’s an outlaw on the loose—say what are you doin’ there?  


[ **MALVO** shoots **BO MUNK** in the head once he’s sure the trunk is closed and everything’s ready to go. He drives down the white road; now that no more snow falls from the sky, the dead air smoothers everything it can touch.]

***

[ **LESTER** lies in a hospital bed for his gunshot wound; he’s positioned by the closed blinds in the gray room.  Walkie static emanates from the hall.]

[ **BUDGE** sits idle in the waiting room when **PEPPER** walks into frame, finishing a phone conversation.  He hangs up and sits next to **BUDGE** , picking up a Reader’s Digest, flipping through briefly, and setting it down.]

 **BUDGE**  
Main office said you called earlier to cancel backup. Why would you do that?

 **PEPPER**  
No, I did just the opposite.

 **BUDGE**  
It doesn’t matter if you did, we’ll probably get demoted again anyway. What’s worse than the file room? [He picks up a National Geographic with wildlife on the front.  It keeps his attention, and he starts browsing the articles.]

 **PEPPER**  
Death? [ **BUDGE** let’s out a humorless laugh, and **PEPPER** shifts gears.] You know I was just thinking, say a bear steals another bear’s cave. Is that bear going to report him to the bear authorities?

 **BUDGE**  
Why do you think rules and organized law enforcement go hand in hand?

 **PEPPER  
** Oh, I guess that’s the difference then.

 **BUDGE**  
The difference between what and what? [He doesn’t take his eyes off the magazine.]

 **PEPPER**  
Do I have to spell it out for you?

 **BUDGE**  
Do you mean the difference between animals and humans?

 **PEPPER**  
Yes!  We have law enforcement bodies, and their punishment, if it comes, probably results in death.

 **BUDGE**  
Why can’t you just…do Sudoku puzzles or something?

[Meanwhile, an officer and **MOLLY** switch spots as she gets back from the restroom.]

 **MOLLY**   
Thanks.  Don’t know why they asked me to guard him when I’ve gotta go every 20 minutes. [She smiles good-naturedly, but you can see the weight of the day on her face.]

 **[KITTY** walks past **BUDGE** and **PEPPER** , down the hallway to **LESTER** ’s room.]

[“Murderous Tundra” plays.]

 **MOLLY**  
Mrs. Nygaard.

 **KITTY**  
It’s Thomson now, my maiden name.

 **Molly**  
Ms. Thomson, it’s past visiting hours. You can stay, but he’s being transferred soon to a hospital near federal holding.

 **KITTY**  
Is Lester okay? His lawyer called me and said somebody shot him.

 **MOLLY**  
Ah, that would be my doin’.

 **KITTY**  
Wha-

 **MOLLY**  
He tried to flee a crime scene, so I pursued him until he tried to shoot me. Dumb luck had it he was outta bullets.  Anyways, he’s charged with attempted murder and possibly multiple other crimes.

 **KITTY  
** What other crimes?

 **MOLLY**  
[neither reluctant nor eager to answer]  
Well, for starters, framing your ex-husband for murder.

 **KITTY**  
No…he was having an affair.

 **MOLLY**  
After the shooting today, we’re lookin’ into any crime Lester was involved with. This is unofficial speculation, but we believe Lester may have planted the evidence in your ex husband’s gun cabinet.

 **KITTY**  
But I thought Lester’s story—

 **MOLLY  
** Might be just a story after all, yeah.

[ **KITTY** doesn’t know what to do. As **MOLLY** apologizes for **KITTY** ’s situation, **KITTY** ’s battling emotions freeze her until rage wins out. She bursts through the hospital door yelling and intending to slap **LESTER** but doesn’t get very far before **MOLLY** restrains her. The other officer jogs back to assist.]

 **KITTY**  
You son of a bitch! They took my son and husband away from me because OF YOU. YOU LOOK AT ME YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT.

[Music plays over her curses as they get her under control. **LESTER** doesn’t look at her, his face straight ahead. **MOLLY** holds her in the hallway as she sobs.]

 **MOLLY**  
Shhh, shhhh. There, there.

[The camera slightly zooms in on **LESTER** his right hand cuffed to his hospital bed. A short flashback shows **LORNE** and **LORNE** in the ER.]

 **MALVO**  
Yes or no?

[It feels like his hand wound had simply laid dormant for a year, and the time is finally ripe to poison him. He habitually moves his thumb thinking about the past infection.]

***

[Fade to **GUS** eating popcorn on the couch. **GRETA** ’s in the kitchen talking on the phone.]

 **GRETA**   
Yeah I’ll tell him. Love you too, Molly.  
[She lies down on the love seat.]

 **GRETA**  
Molly’s waiting for the FBI to take Lester into custody. They’re still searching for that Malvo fella, but the doctor told her to go home and get some rest.

  
[ **LOU** walks into the living room and stares at **GRETA** to lift her feet up. She does so, and he sits with his granddaughter’s legs in his lap.  **LOU** ’s spending time quality time with his family as well as fulfilling the role of guard dog.]

 **LOU**  
Huh, she’ll stay up at the precinct until the baby’s born there that’s for sure.

 **GUS**   
She’s taking leave soon, said she was quitting but I don’t think so now with what happened to Bill…

 **GRETA**   
[She moves to lighten to atmosphere (not disrespectfully) by directing the two’s attention to the TV screen.]  
How bout it? I think he’s set. $750,000 is big bucks.

 **GUS**  
I say go for it. He’s gotta 50/50 chance for the million.

[The contestant opens the box the box to find $50,000.  **GRETA** pumps the air, and **GUS** ’s face is as upset as you could get over Deal or No Deal.]

 **LOU**  
Ahh, money’s money isn’t it though? $50,000 would put you and the other one through college. Say, have you guys decided on a name yet?

 **GUS**  
Ah, Molly wants to name him Vern after Vern Thurman.

 **LOU**  
That’s sweet, but somehow I feel like we’re destined for another generation of law enforcement. [He ruffles **GRETA** ’s hair.]

 **GRETA**  
Hey!

[She laughs and playfully throws popcorn at her grandpa.]

***

[Fade to dusk on the road.]

[“Highway Snow” plays for around thirty seconds and turns into “Bemidji, MN Reprise.”]

[The camera captures a car in the distance; the barbed wire fence on either side of the road feels like a red carpet for the lone driver.] [ **MALVO** sits in his midnight blue Elantra.  He just turns his headlights on when he spots a worn suitcase sticking up out of the snow with Carl Showalter’s red ice scraper lying about 5ft away. This piques his interest, and despite his injury, he pulls the car over to inspect the out of place item. Roughly approximating the money, he speculates that this must’ve been the million-dollar ransom from Stavros that he was supposed to collect.]

[ **MALVO** hears a car driving on the road behind him but thinks nothing of it; his situation looks innocent enough to a passerby.  Unfortunately, the car pulls over, a Good Samaritan offering a Christian hand.  The camera stays on **MALVO** all the while.]

  
**MALVO**  
Just a little car trouble. Nothing I can’t fix.

[ **MALVO** joyfully intones, but when he sees who it is, his eyes shine.]  
  
[ **WRENCH** , covered in splotches of blood from killing the wolf back at the cabin, shoots **MAVLO** in his clearly injured leg; the latter collapses and props his back up against his car door.]

 **MALVO**  
Didn’t expect you to survive the escape. Kudos.

[He tries to distract him with lip reading as he reaches for the grenade in his inner coat pocket, but Wrench unloads a clip on both arms, essentially disarming him.]

 **MALVO**  
I guess it’s time to have that talk now.

[ **WRENCH** doesn’t try to read his lips; this isn’t a discussion: **MAVLO** ’s a sacrificial…wolf as it is. He grasps the Damascus blade in his right hand and crouches down to **MALVO** ’s level. **MALVO** isn’t sad, but he’s not exactly pleased to be killed either, eyes still shining.]

 **MALVO**  
Do it.

  
[ **WRENCH** slices **MALVO** ’s throat, the blood beautiful on the blade’s folded steel. He doesn’t move from his crouched position; he wants to watch the life drain from **MAVLO** ’s eyes.]

[ **MALVO** , wanting to inflict pain until his last second, speaks, causing more blood to cascade down his throat.]

 **MALVO**  
How do you sleep at night without your partner next to you?  


[ **WRENCH** ’s controlled fury overflows, and he stabs **MALVO** under his ribs through his heart, holding and twisting the knife a couple seconds more than necessary. This stab is shot torso up on the two, and reactions from each follow.]

[The camera switches to the opposite side of the pair as we see **WRENCH** notice the suitcase of money, take it in hand, pop the trunk, duck into his car, and drive away. The shot is still as we’re left with a frame of **MALVO** ’s corpse.]  
  
[The screen fades to black, and the “Bemidji, MN Reprise” rises to its full height.]


End file.
